Law originally, Chartered Accountant (former partner in a global firm: PWC), ex director of FTSE 100 financial services business, semi retired a few years ago and did property development. Accidently became CEO of an airline services business. Now trying to avoid doing consulting and trying to do some serious writing. Very tempted to run a restaurant!

Still teaching guitar for pleasure. Still trying to play the dratted piano, having started when I was about 5. Still cannot play violin worth a damn.

Pathologist, flirting with retirement. At one time, in the distant past, was an Indonesian language translator.

Physical Therapist with certifications in Hand, Spine, Sports Medicine, Cardiac Rehab and Balance Disorders; Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Administrator in a Major Hospital, Adjunct Professor in the School of Physical Therapy at a major University, Piano Technician and Tuner

Engineering Manager and CCIE for a large Cisco Partner

I'm getting my doctorate in piano this semester and hope to work at a university. I play concerts, teach, and have a church gig. Wife does the same.

Recently, I've been thinking quite a bit about going to nursing school. If I can't get land a university job or make the concert pianist thing work profitably, I'd like to do something involving medicine such as becoming a nurse specialist (anesthesist, obstetrics, or oncology, although the latter would be very hard work from an emotional standpoint). That's a lot of school (BSN + another Master's for the specialty), so maybe "vanilla" nursing is a good place to start. Plus, it's more affordable than going to med school and having to pay back $300k of loans (I've been told by some friends who are nurses that hospitals will pay for your education).

Have you lost your marbles, Brendan? You
have a concert pianist's repertoire and you
want to be a nurse? You don't even need
to play the piano to become a nurse.

it seems a lot of people change career to nursing from their original occupation, but not much musicians though... kind of reality unfortunately.

me, IT programming, and hope to stay that way till the end...

Brendan,

I don't know you, but I wondered if you might be interested in being a music therapist who gives treatments in hospitals. I've seen some clips lately on news programs and such especially with children coming through surgery and recovery in hospitals, and cancer and other serious illness treatments, and recovering from anesthesia, too.

You can use your imagination to see how you could contribute and use your talents already established in music. It's another form of "reaching and communicating" with people through music.

Betty

Betty, music therapy doesn't pay much. It's probably more hours and less money than being a freelance musician.

Brendan, I completely understand where you're coming from, having been in the same situation myself.

It's all very well to say art is its own reward, but living a life of poverty or being completely dependent on other people is no fun.

OK, I'll fess up. I'm a professor of electrical engineering and applied physics at a large, fairly decent university in the midwest.

I've been managing and engineering construction projects for the past twenty-odd years, from Puerto Rico to Guam.

It the piano and Ludwig van Beethoven that have kept me sane during this time :-)

Marine engineer currently working on ships that lay and repair undersea cables. Still looking for that perfect portable keyboard to bring with me to sea: five octaves from F1 to F6 (middle C in the middle; what's with this middle F nonsense?) with fully weighted, hammer-action keys. Is that too much to wish for? Apparently.

Two years of piano lessons as a child.

This forum is a goldmine of information. Thanks, everyone.

Craig

Brendan may I offer you some advise?

I considered exactly the same career move at one point in my life, but before entering a nursing program I spent 2 years working at a hematology lab at Children's Hospital in Boston which got me onto all the floor in the hospital and interacting with doctors, nurses, PT's patients and parents. It is a wonderful teaching hospital connected with Harvard Medical School.

After 2 years I had a much clearer idea of what it would actually be like to work as a nurse, and decided that I just could not do it. I later studied engineering and I work as an electrical engineer - now if something doesnt work or dies I just take it apart and then throw it in the trash!

Was that in bad taste? Sorry but it's true. Arent you glad I'm not your nurse?

Think about a volunteer job for a few weeks on a floor - you might find you love it - many people do - when you have saved a child's life there is probably no greater satisfaction in life - but you need to personally experience what it is like - me I just had nightmares all the time

What great advice Schubertian!

I am a wafer fab process technician. We make computer chips, specifically memory. I work in the CMP area, chemical-mechanical-polish (or planarization). we remove and/or "flatten" films or metals deposited by other areas in the fab. It's my job to make sure the process tools are performing within specifications, and make appropriate adjustments when needed.

The work is in a "clean room" and we do wear those full body smocks. We call them "bunny suits."

mike

Mike - I am a probe test engineer - I am also of the Order of the Bunny Suit -

You havent lived until you have soldered a surface mount component onto a probe card wearing glasses, a surgical mask, hood and two pairs of latex gloves.

I am 8 days from retirement as a mental health professional. Will be free at last to really spend more time at the piano then my hour a day practice now. I am thrilled. Happy

LOL!! Work in medical devices... How do I join this (secret) society?

You have to be able to say you have worked in a clean room at a semiconductor fab. Can you look me straight in the eyes and say that?

Actuary with a large global insurer.

Used-to-be IT academic & subdean at a large university. Now free to indulge in my great love -chamber music.

General manager of a large bed & breakfast. I'm also a freelance marketing consultant and web designer.

IT professional.

Man there are so many of us IT/engineering guys on
this forum that the number speaks loud and clear
that we are no nerds but we do have an artistic
and possibly quite romantic life besides our work
8-))!

Brendan,
I'll chime in with more advice. Hospitals are begging for physical, occupational, and speech therapists. I find what I'm doing (speech therapy, see post above) complements the music side of life nicely. Someone also suggested I do music/art therapy a long time ago--boy am I glad I didn't follow that advice! It's the kind of service that is the first to get cut when budgets get tight.

Chalk up another one in IT.

I'm a web programmer to be exact. I did two arts degrees with music concentrations and then decided to study something a little more practical.

All the forums I've ever been on have been chock a block with IT guys. What that says to me is that they are interested in all sorts of other things, but what they actually do is mostly stay at their computers talking about the other lives instead of living them. :p

I speak as a 'computer tragic' and ex IT worker (briefly) who is trying to summon up the determination (yet again!) to ban myself from posting, and getting back to practice on the musical keyboard.

Cheers

Chris

Retired from mechanical engineering (original profession), house building, computer work, selling classical music, partner in graphic design and photography business, working on farms and fishing boats, architect's draughtsman, cabinet-making, designing making and selling own 3d wooden puzzles, working at the dish cleaning end of restaurants, plus too many others to list or remember. Not got around to playing piano in a whorehouse yet, but I'm learning keyboards, so you never know....

Now semi-retired and full time househusband, domestic maintenance man, self taught music student, and carer and educator for my disabled son. My wife works and keeps us all in the lavish lifestyle that we have come to enjoy...now and then...

Covered most of the bases one way or another. The composer Sir Arnold Bax said :

"You should make a point of trying every experience once, except incest and folk dancing"

I've been taking him at his word. And, to be honest, I haven't entirely ruled out trying folk dancing.....

I'm a IT and engineering girl, extreme nerd, and have no romantic life. I alternate between gaming and piano. Is this supposed to be a bad thing? =)

Very surprised at the numbers though as I do not know many in IT or engineering that are into piano.

It not that a big percentage of IT people are pianists. It's that 100% of IT people spend a lot of time sitting at computers, and are prone to a little goofing off on the internet when they get bored (which is apparently quite often). So on every forums for any interest at all there are always lots of people saying "Hey, coincidence, I'm in IT too!

Lots more women gamers now. I have friend pushing 40 who enjoys turning up at online car racing in a provocatively pink car, and then soundly whapping the boys (she's really good ). I'd see lots of women playing RPGs too, when that was my passion. Get a home LAN setup and invite some gamers round. One of them might be a romantic prospect, or even a pianist....

Folk dancing's fun

Cathy